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Free and Fun? You Betcha

Thursday, February 15, at Brooklyn Center High School (Brooklyn Center High School, 6500 Humboldt Ave N, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430), Band Director, Michael Reed, and in partnership with Minnesota Brass, invites everyone to come out for FREE to hear Lulu’s Playground. Lulu’s Playground will be the first ensemble of various guest artists throughout the school year promoting the Free Access to Music Education Arts Learning Program established by Minnesota Brass last fall. The concert will begin at 3:15 pm in the auditorium.

This performance is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. The grant, secured by Minnesota Brass, supports instrumental music education at Brooklyn Center High School.

Lulu’s Playground
Lulu’s Playground consists of a unique instrumentation including trumpet, cello, accordion, and guitar. The band was started by four old friends who go back to their school days at Lawrence University Music Conservatory. They’ve played together in jazz groups, salsa bands, orchestras, improvisation classes, and hallway jam sessions, and now they’ve joined forces in a new city to bring you an old chemistry.

About the Artists:

Adam Meckler (Trumpet):
Adam Meckler is a trumpet player, composer, and educator living in Minneapolis, MN. He is an Edwards Instrument Co. Performing Artist and Clinician, and leads The Adam Meckler Orchestra (AMO), an 18 piece big band that plays his original compositions. The AMO’s debut album ‘When the Clouds Look Like This’ was listed among 2014’s Best Jazz Releases by iTunes. Adam holds faculty positions in trumpet and Jazz at McNally Smith College of Music, and MacPhail Center for Music. He tours and records with Youngblood Brass Band and Nooky Jones, and plays regularly with a host of bands around the Twin Cities including Lulu’s Playground, The Jana Nyberg Group, Jack Brass Band, The Graydon Peterson Quartet, and The Pete Whitman X-Tet. His latest release ‘Improvisations’, an improvised duets album with cellist Cory Grossman, is now available at www.adammeckler.com.

Steven Hobert (accordion):
Steven Hobert describes himself as a soul who plays, sings and dances while exploring life’s mysteries. His genre-blending piano, accordion and vocal music has been described as “delightful, innovative and viscerally inspiring” that “dazzles audiences with sincerity and playfulness to open up hearts and fire imaginations.” Based out of Minneapolis, he plays in Oudyano with renowned Syrian oud player Issam Rafea, tours as a soloist, leads the world beat-driven ensemble FireFlyForest, leads the Steven Hobert (jazz) Quartet and works as a free-lance producer, composer and instrumentalist for countless shows with vocalists & ensembles in jazz, classical, world music fusion, sacred music and American roots music.

Cory Grossman (Cello):
Cory Grossman, cellist/composer/teacher, has a degree in performance from Lawrence University and regularly plays with the Laurels String quartet. Cory has performed/recorded with artists such as Macklemore, Dan Wilson, Father John Misty, Belle and Sebastian, Jeremy Messersmith, and Haley Bonar.

Ben Abrahamson:
Ben Abrahamson is a dynamic and original voice on the acoustic guitar. His original compositions and fingerstyle approach blend the improvisation of jazz, and the dexterity of flamenco. His passion for flamenco guitar drove him to Taller de Músics School of Music in Barcelona, where he studied under Juan Ramón Caro. He has composed works for theMinneapolis Guitar Quartet, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, Mac Jazz big band, and Muhlenberg College Theatre and Dance Dept. Ben has shared the stage with mentors like Michael and Tony Hauser, Susana diPalma, La Conja, Chuscales, Pedro Cortes Jr., Joan Griffith, and Gary Lee Joyner. Ben performs regularly with groups such as Lulu’s Playground, the Tom Nordlund Quintet, Zorongo Flamenco, and the Ben Abrahamson Trio.